


Carried Me With You

by smileykylie29



Category: Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James
Genre: Brotherhood, Christian Grey has a good family, Elliot Grey is not just a HIMBO, F/M, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23887225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smileykylie29/pseuds/smileykylie29
Summary: Four times Elliot felt like he earned his place as Christian's best man, and one time he didn't. Otherwise known as, I listened to one Brandi Carlile song and all of a sudden I'm a songfic writer. Just a one-shot btw.
Relationships: Christian Grey/Anastasia Steele
Kudos: 22





	Carried Me With You

When mom sat him down and explained to him that he would be getting a brother, Elliot's not sure what he imagined. But this wordless, string bean of a boy was not it. Christian had lived with the family for four days, and he had brought not a word to accompany him on his adventure.

Elliot had been so excited. Mom and dad explained that his new brother was living with a foster family, and they were getting him ready to come and live with them, forever. So, after a month of waiting, and wondering… they went for a drive down to Windsor, and picked his brother up. Now, four days later… Elliot was ready for them to drop the boy back off.

He didn't like his shifty eyes. Didn't like how he ran away from dad whenever he tried to ruffle his hair. Didn't like how he clung to mom's hand and leaned and pulled on her for attention. And as of late, Elliot couldn't stand how he ate his food. If he wasn't piling it into his mouth by the handful, he was trying to sneak his dinner rolls into his shirts, or a full piece of corn into his pocket. By the end of every meal, Christian was either covered in food or crying. Sometimes both.

Tonight, it was the second one.

He was sat, stiff as a board, silently crying. Big crocodile tears streamed down his face, one after the other while the rest of the family tried to eat. If anyone were to make eye contact with him, his eyes would well up all over again, and he only ever took a bite when he was sure no one was looking.

Bite was putting it nicely.

Really, it was a shovel. Christian would look around the table, make sure no one could 'catch' him, and then he'd plow his hands into his potatoes and shove them as quickly as he could into his mouth.

Elliot was "over it".

"Dude why are you doing it like that?" He asked, loud and disgusted.

"Elliot, no. Leave him be." Dad had said quickly. Elliot's eyes got as big as saucers and he shot his dad an incredulous look from over the table.

"What? Do you not see him? He's not even using a fork!"

Grace raised her hand and planted it lightly onto Elliot's on the tabletop, which caused new brother to jump slightly in his seat.

"He doesn't understand, Ellie. Let him eat how he pleases." She smiled at him, and then directed the smile toward Christian. Which caused a whole new wave of soundless tears to pool from his face.

"Well, I can't eat if he's gonna be all gross in my face like that. May I be excused?"

"No, you may not," Dad said, quickly. "You May sit there with the rest of your family and be very thankful for the meal that you have, just as we are. And mind your own plate and no one else's." Dad's voice was soft.

Elliot knew it was for his brother's sake because if dad ever got loud, the whole family had to participate in the 'find the Christian' game. Usually, he would be found hiding behind the couch, or under his bed.

After a harrowing end to their meal, mom got Christian up from his seat and carted him off for their nightly 'screaming bath'. Elliot wanted to crawl in a hole.

"Stay." His dad blurted out as Elliot made to leave the table as well.

Great, now he was going to get in trouble for being rude to new brother. If Elliot could roll his eyes any further back in his head, he'd go blind.

Once mom and Christian were fully out of the room. Dad leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He let the silence fill the room for a bit too long to bring comfort.

And then he began…

"Did you know, Elliot… that there are children all over the world right now, that did not get dinner tonight?" Elliot nodded his head. Of course, he knew that. He'd heard about them, Starving kids in Africa.

"Did you know that some children go all day and all night without food? Or if they find any, it might be old and bad but they're so hungry and they've been without for so long that they eat it anyway? Did you know that some children don't have mommies and daddies that love them?"

Of course, he knew that, of course.

Elliot's eyes started to do something funny. They were feeling sad suddenly, he couldn't explain it. Why was dad telling him all these sad things when he thought he was about to get into trouble?

"Ellie… when mommy and I adopted you, we were thankful to know that you did not come from a family that you might have gone without food in. We were so glad that you came from love, and you were made just for mommy and me. And that you'd never know hurt, or hunger, or loneliness."

From what Elliot knew of his first mommy, she was a nice lady. He doesn't remember her face. But anytime he asks about her, mommy and daddy tell him about a beautiful girl that was too young and too scared to raise a child. So instead, she gave her little boy to Grace and Carrick. And she gave that little boy Grace and Carrick's last name, and Grace and Carrick's home, and Grace and Carrick as a mom and dad.

So no, Elliot supposed he didn't know hurt, or hunger, or loneliness.

"Do you know where your brother came from?" Dad asked him.

"The foster home." He said, quietly.

"Before that, son. Christian didn't always live at the foster home. Before that he lived with his first mom."

So Christian had an first mommy too. This he could understand.

"His first mom wasn't like mommy, and she wasn't like your first mommy either. Christian's mom… was sick. She couldn't take care of herself, and so she couldn't take care of Christian. And because of that… a lot of really bad things happened to him. And he had to grow up around a lot of really bad people."

Elliot raised his head from it's downcast, up to meet his dad's eyes. "Like what? What happened to him?" He asked, scared to even know the answer.

"Maybe he'll tell you all about it one day. But Christian was one of those children that did not get to eat every day as we do. And because of his mother's… sickness, Christian got hurt sometimes, he had to eat food that had gone bad and would make him sick, but he was just so hungry that he ate it anyway. And Christian was lonely, son. He was all alone. For years. And that's why he doesn't speak to us. Because he never had anyone to talk to where he used to live, so he doesn't know how."

Well, this was the worst story Elliot had ever heard. Tears fell freely now, only his crying was not nearly as silent as new brother's.

"Oh, baby." Dad sighed softly as he made his way around the table to bring his son into his lap. After a good cry and a better cuddle, dad continued.

"I don't tell you all of this to make you sad, son. I'm telling you all of this because you're Christian's big brother. And now that he has a big brother as brave and as strong as you, and a mommy as sweet as mom, and a daddy as ugly as me… we must take care of him. We must protect him, and make sure he doesn't have to be any of those things he used to be. And I don't know for sure, but I believe that if we make him feel safe, and full, and welcome here with us… I think he might turn into a happy, playful boy. Don't you?"

Elliot liked the idea of that. He nodded his head agreeing with dad.

Once the house had gone quiet, and the good nights had been said, Elliot snuck out of his bed.

He clambered down to the kitchen and quietly opened the fridge.

There it was.

The "tub-of-where".

He knew the plastic container held all the food they didn't eat at dinners.

He reached into the bowl and got out two pieces of garlic bread.

Ever so quietly, he crept up the stairs to new brother's room. The light was already on. Because mommy said Christian needed it to stay on as he slept for a little while. Just until he got used to his new place. So Elliot made his way into the room, and over to the bed.

He didn't touch him. Dad had made that the first rule when they picked Christian up. No one touched Christian unless he wanted them to, and since he couldn't talk… Elliot hadn't made a move to touch him just yet.

"Hey!" He said, louder than he intended to. Christian's eyes popped open and he became stiff as a board. He was scared, Elliot could tell that much. So, he presented his garlic bread quickly. New brother sat up in the bed and reached for a piece, folding himself into the top corner of his mattress as far away from Elliot as he could get.

But it didn't matter, Elliot had decided.

He plopped down and the foot of the bed and began eating his garlic bread, slower than Christian was. He began to talk. About trucks and his new baseball team, and how mom might start working in Washington and they all might get to move. Christian never responded, but he watched Elliot. And he hung onto every word. When he had devoured his piece of bread, Elliot broke his in half and gave him a portion.

At this rate, Elliot would have a new 'fat' brother, but he decided he didn't mind too much.

"I'm sorry I made fun of you eating, Christian." Elliot began. "See I just didn't know how hungry you are. But I know now. And I'm gonna take care of you. And protect you, and make sure you're full." He wasn't sure how much of this new brother was taking in, but he figured that if he just kept telling him these things over and over again, he'd start to believe them too.

That's how Grace found her boys once morning hit. One curled up at the top of the bed, and one curled up at the bottom. They had a long road ahead of them. But something told her, it would all be worth it.

Summer-Day Camp was one of Elliot's favorite times of the year.

As an 8-year-old, this would be Christian's first year. And 12-year-old Elliot was excited to show his brother the ropes.

The literal ropes.

The rope obstacle course, the frisbee range, the ice cream machine, and the pool. The boys had a never-ending smorgasbord of fun before them. This wasn't really a 'cool' camp like some of the other programs Elliot was in. This was a day camp, where mom got to tag along. Which was pretty lame, but still fun enough to make the summer days drift into quick sun naps, and fun memories.

Elliot got to reunite with all his friends every summer and this summer, he was going to make his brother a part of the pack.

Everything was going according to plan. All the boys were playing well together. The pecking order had been set, but Elliot was at the top of it and because of association, Christian was in a pretty good spot as well. Everything was great… until it wasn't.

"What the hell is your brother doing Elliot?" His friend Riley asked.

He pointed to the pool and a white shirt boy wading happily in the shallow end. "He's swimming." Elliot shrugged.

"With his shirt on?"

Christian… had these… spots, see. They were small and round and scattered all over his chest and back. He freaked out if anyone even seemed like they were going to touch them, so Elliot assumed they hurt really bad. Mom says they're from his old home. Dad was a little less secretive and let slip to Elliot once that someone had hurt Christian a long time ago. He figured they must have hurt him really bad if years later, they still made Christian well up with tears at the thought of them being touched.

"Yeah with his shirt on what about it?"

"That's freaking lame" Riley laughed.

Now while dad has told Elliot lying was one of the worst things you could do, he'd also told Elliot to never stand for anyone making fun of his brother… so he figured lying might, could maybe be excused just this once.

"It's not lame. He has to wear his shirt all the time. I do too." Elliot said with a shift of his eyes, and a shrug of his shoulder.

"What," Riley asked, "since when?"

"Since we got our gang tattoos," Elliot said. Hoping he sounded as badass as he felt.

"Your gang tattoos?" All of his friends were wide-eyed and silent.

"Yeah, we don't like to talk about it. Because we had to do some crazy killer stuff. You know… for the initiation. But then we got our tats. We can't just walk around without our shirts on like all the other kids, we'd get arrested."

The rest of summer camp consisted of the boys asking the brothers all kinds of questions about the gang Christian didn't even realize he was a part of. And while his brother wasn't as quick on his feet, Elliot could tell a story like he was born for it.

The following week, when Grace received a phone call from the board about some complaints of gang-related conversations going on amongst the children… Elliot was forced to reveal his life on the edge.

Christian was a fighter.

And at 14, he really shouldn't ever be crossing paths with his senior brother. However, his bad attitude had made a lot of enemies in their private school, and now that Christian had made his rounds through all the boys his age, he was making his way up.

Even seniors wanted to fight him.

He'd been suspended more times than Elliot could count, gotten into more fistfights than Elliot could even be present for, and had even gotten a minor assault charge for beating some kids face in for trying to grab him from behind in the hallway.

Dad had to work his lawyer magic to make that one disappear.

Which is why the Grey children were now attending the second-best private school in Seattle and not the first.

Elliot couldn't understand how a boy as sweet as the one that toted Mia around playing barbies on the weekend could be this same, jackass of a kid he knew at school. But here he was, about to witness yet another fight he couldn't stop.

While dad was an avid pacifist, Grandpa Trevelyan had told the boys a thing or two about the unspoken rules of fight club.

You never jump in if the fight is one-on-one, you always jump in if your man is getting jumped. And you watch a two-on-one carefully, so as to jump in at any time if it appears your man can't take the double teaming.

So that was Elliot's position right now in the school parking lot. With one arm around his girlfriend, Angela and one arm leaned back on the hood of his Mercedes… he watched his idiot little brother throw punch after punch at the two football players Elliot would have considered friends only yesterday.

Christian was holding his own, and Elliot had a feeling he'd be doing nothing but watching this round. Which wasn't disappointing so to speak, but with his girl in his ear threatening him within an inch of his life… he really wished his brother would take a little bit of a beating so he could really tell her to kiss his ass.

"I swear Elliot. This is so embarrassing. People don't do this shit here. I don't know where you and your brother came from, but I feel like I'm associated with hicks or something" she wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "You better not jump in or I'll walk off I swear. I'll be out of here so fast, I swear on everything Elliot Grey."

Elliot wanted to tell her just exactly where she could walk, but before he could get his word in edgewise, school security had pulled up.

Two golf carts with annoyingly loud sirens blaring rolled into the gathered crowd around the three boys. The fight stopped quickly. Mostly because at this point, Christian was the only one getting any licks in, and he was smart enough to stop before one of the security guards would grab him and run the risk of touching his burns

. Once it looked like he was going to be carted away, Elliot knew he'd have to make his move.

With a swift "fuck you, Angela."

He threw his hand off her and strutted into the circle after his brother.

"You getting in trouble, kid?" He asked quietly once he made his way to the inner circle.

"Fuck, yes. Probably." Christian said just as quietly as if he were just now coming back to himself and realizing what he'd done.

"Ok. Well… me too." Elliot decided quickly.

He looked around the circle and saw one of the boys that Christian had been wailing on. He was still standing but was holding his head back to avoid getting blood all over his button-up shirt.

"Hey, Hollis!" He said getting the boy's attention. Hollis looked forward with a "what now?" expression on his face.

Before Elliot could give it much more thought, and before Hollis could register who had even called his name, he stalked over to the bleeding boy and socked him once, square in the nose.

Hollis fell and didn't get back up.

The crowd went silent. Elliot flexed his knuckles and checked for marks, then slowly looked up to meet his brother's eyes. Christian's head was cocked slightly to the right. A smile barely being concealed on his lips.

"Both of you! On the golf cart, now!" One of the officers demanded loudly.

Elliot wasn't incredibly excited to be moving schools for the second time his senior year. But as long as he was moving with his brother, he didn't mind too much. And after all, it might not be a bad thing to get as far away from Angela and he could go.

When Christian asked Elliot to come to Portland with him for the weekend he expected a hike through Washington Park.

Or perhaps a trip to Voodoo Donuts.

He most definitely didn't expect to be holed up in the presidential of the Heathman like a criminal on the lam.

After the tenth "what the hell are we doing here, dude?" Elliot had concluded that his brother had gone crazy. Who the hell takes a 45-minute helicopter ride to sit in a hotel for 72 hours and call it "business"?

Christian Grey, that's who.

He knew his brother was batshit, but he thought he'd at least do it on his own free time and not Elliot's.

If he didn't know better, he'd say Christian was waiting for a girl.

Or a boy, perhaps.

Mom had sat her eldest and youngest down years ago and settled them with the idea that maybe Christian might decide he was a homosexual.

"Dad and I have no proof of this, mind you. But we know that the two of you know Christian isn't all that interested in girls, and we just want to prepare you both for the possible outcome of him deciding he might be gay. You will be accepting and patient, and you will make sure he knows that no matter what… you love him for who he is, won't you dears?" She asked sweetly, leaving no room for debate.

"If you think for one moment, that I won't be ecstatic at the notion that I will have a gay brother, mother. You don't know me. I'd rather have two gay brothers, if we want to get technical." Mia said with a laugh and an upturned nose in Elliot's direction.

"First of all, ouch, Mia. And secondly, of course, we would mom. As long as he's not a eunuch, I don't care what he is."

Elliot really meant that. He never cared what or who Christian ended up being into, as long as he eventually got into something. Or something got into him, he didn't care either way. He just didn't want him to be lonely. Didn't want him to grow old with nothing to show for it but billions of dollars and a smattering of empty homes scattered across the country. So, Elliot began to throw hints around. Anytime he knew of a girl, or boy that was available and seemed to be compatible with his brother, he made a mention or ten the next time he saw him.

He began publicly showing his support for the ever-growing gay community. Making sure Christian took note of the little rainbow flags and his remarks of being an "ally." If Christian noticed, he didn't take the bait.

The ringing of a phone brought him out of his musings, and he heard Cristian answer from across the room.

"Ana!" He said in a surprised tone.

"Ana!? Ana a girl? Ana a girl that my brother is speaking to on the phone? His personal phone? Where he has called a girl by her first name and sounded hopeful about it?!" If he got any more excited, Elliot might just have to open a window.

After a brief conversation, Christian pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it.

"Ummm who was that?" Elliot asked.

"Hush" Christian said quickly, and he tapped the screen and put the phone back to his ear.

"Stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."

Elliot rose from his seat like an excited puppy that had heard the word "walk".

"Coming to get her? Where are we going?" He asked excitedly.

Christian was pacing the room. Grabbing his wallet and fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He appeared to be nervous, but his face showed no emotion Elliot could grab onto.

"You're not going anywhere. I'm going."

Oh, hell no. He'd come all this way… he was getting a fairy tale ending. Elliot looked at the nightstand and landed on Christian's keys. Normally Christian is the faster of the two. With a smaller build and a quicker reaction time. But adrenaline rushed through Elliot's body at the prospect that his brother was going to meet a girl, and his hands reached the keys just seconds before Christian's bumped into them.

"Give them to me," Christian demanded.

"No", he responded, childishly.

"Give me the fucking keys."

"No, take me with you."

"Elliot I swear to FUCK if you don't give me those fucking keys I will shove my foot so far down your-"

Elliot jingled the keys and silenced Christian's rant.

"You gonna fight me for them?" He teased.

Christian stared him down. Elliot was half convinced that yes, he was about to fight him for them. But then, Christian shook his head as if to clear it and jumped on the balls of his feet like a petulant child.

"Elliot, please! I need to go, please." He begged.

"Take me with you, Christian. You're going to meet a girl? Take me too. I deserve this!" Elliot responded in an equally pleading tone.

"Fine!"

The whole way to the bar Christian fessed up.

Confided in his brother about this girl that had turned his whole world upside down. Told him how he had been practically camping out in Portland in the hopes that she'd call him again and now she'd finally done it. Elliot decided then and there that he would strangle this girl if she was playing around with his brother's heart.

"She's with her roommate, I'm sure. And she sounded three sheets to the wind, but if I can just talk to her I think I can convince her to leave with me."

"Uhh not to burst your bubble kid, but if we get there and she's three sheets to the wind, I am not letting you fuck her. That's rape, dude. You'll ruin your life."

Christian scoffed loudly, "of course I'm not going to fuck her, Elliot. I'm just going to get her to leave the bar with me. I mean, I don't want her getting drunk and going home with someone else, do I? What do you take me for?"

An idiot virgin is what he took him for, but he didn't say that out loud.

"Ok, calm down, just saying. So this is the plan then, I'll get the roommate. Is she hot?" Elliot asked.

"She's… you're type, yes." Christian answered after a beat.

"So female, good deal. I'll distract the roommate and you go in and make your move with Ana. Then, you can come to find me once you've convinced her to pack her night in."

Getting inside the bar was easy. Christian Grey's name went far and wide, and a college bar in Portland was no exception. Elliot was high on the energy of the night. This was the closest he'd felt to his brother since he was 18, and he wasn't ready to give that feeling back up just yet.

"There's Kate!" Christian said excitedly. He pointed to a tall blonde dancing in a crowd of people. "But I don't see Ana, at all."

"Don't panic yet, dude. I'll go over there. I'll start to dance with her and ask her if she's here by herself. She'll let me know if her BFF is still lurking around here. If you don't hear from me, keep looking. But I'll text you if Kate says she left her."

"That's genius," Christian remarked in awe.

"Yeah. I know a thing or two." He said as they made their way to separate.

By the time Christian made his way over to them 30 minutes later, with a very drunk and handsy Ana, Kate and Elliot had hit it off just fine. As he explained to his brother that he was putting an "x-nay on the original plan", and had decided to stay and dance with Kate, Christian was halfway out the door with the girl who appeared to be completely unconscious at this point.

A beautiful night with a beautiful girl would just have to be the small price Elliot paid for being a good brother.

Christian had called him from work. Which is not something the man normally does.

Once he is in his businessman's headspace, only his fiancé can interrupt and get away with it.

Then again, Ana could get away with almost anything in Christian's eyes.

He sounded upset. Told Elliot he needed to talk to him and he needed to talk now.

"Can you just meet me at Escala? Please, Elliot?" He asked in a desperate tone.

"Ok, kid. Yes. Calm down. I'll leave right now."

Elliot packed up his work early. Changing his boots and getting into his personal vehicle. He thought about calling Ana. Making sure Christian was alright. Ana and he had become close over the months, their mutual overprotective need to handle Christian being their bonding. He would often call Ana throughout the week. If he had something on his mind he wanted to run past her. If he wanted to check on his brother but didn't want to seem overbearing towards him. Or even to just call her, like a brother would if he were bugging his sister. Ana was an honorary Grey, after all.

But once he got to Escala, and saw Ana's car parking in the private area of the garage, a sense of nervousness washed over him.

"You guys ok?" He asked Christian as he made it into the apartment.

He was sitting at the glass dining room table. Ana, standing over him running her hands through his hair. She looked at Elliot and silently shook her head.

He moved across the room and sat directly beside his brother. Leaning forward and putting his hand on Christian's knee, he willed his brother to look at him.

The room was silent for a long time. neither brother knowing how to begin the conversation.

"Hey, bud, what going on? Talk to me." He said softly.

"I have to tell you something, Elliot. Something that's really been eating me alive. And I don't want you to hate me once I've said it." Christian whispered, never looking up from Elliot's hand on his knee.

"He's been to see John today," Ana said quietly.

Oh, this must be a big thing, Elliot thought.

"Dude you could tell me you accidentally cut my dick off, and I couldn't hate you. You're my little \brother."

Christian let out a sigh that might have been a laugh if he wasn't so upset.

Ana kissed him on top of the head and told him she was proud of him. Then, she stepped out of the room and left the boys to talk.

An hour later. And a lot of tears from mostly Elliot, he had found the answer to everything.

Elena Lincoln.

She's the reason Elliot lost his mean little brother at the age of 15. She's why, for the past 12 years of their lives, Elliot's brother has been an uptight, formal, stick in the mud. She's why they never went on double dates, why they never shared stories of girls, and embarrassing sex. She's the reason Christian is closed off, and despondent, and isolated. She molested his brother. And it made him sick to even think the word.

And what's worse. She did it right underneath his nose.

Elliot had always been so proud of himself. Proud of the brother he was able to be. Ever since dad sat him down at the kitchen table and told him in a child's explanation about his brother, he was now responsible for protecting, he had taken it so very much to heart.

And now, with one dark and sickening confession, he felt he had done nothing of the sort.

Elliot felt as if he had sat back and allowed a predator to prey on his kid brother.

Expose him to disgusting acts that no child should ever experience.

He knew Christian wasn't telling him all of it, even as he sat and confessed his deepest secret to him. He knew he was holding back. But, just from what little Elliot received… he knows that Christian has struggled with this every day of his life since it first began.

Suddenly Elliot felt as if he had so much hate in his heart, that he might explode.

"I don't want you to hate me." Christian had cried.

Hate him? How could he hate his baby brother?

Elliot didn't have an ounce of hate left to give him. It was divided evenly between Elena Lincoln and himself.

As he looks at his little brother. A powerful businessman, shriveled up to a crying, embarrassed boy, Elliot could only come to two conclusions in my mind.

First, that the world is a disgusting place. That it will take an abused child and build them up only to ruin them once again.

And second, that Elena Lincoln was going to pay for what she did, that Elliot would find a way to make it up to him. Find a way to make him feel safe and full, and welcome again.


End file.
